Thread: What does a properly honed razor feel like?

I'm practicing honing on Norton 4/8 and I'm curious as to what the razor is supposed to feel like after properly honing it Norton 4/8. It is sharp enough to shave against the grain completely without pulling?

I ask because some people have 16k and higher grit stones. This leads me to believe that Norton 4/8 isn't the best you can get, so I'm wondering what kind of sharpness would a skilled individual get only with Norton 4/8?

Thanks and sorry if the question is stupid. I'm rather new.

deleted double post

That is going to be hard to give you an idea of what look for in writing if your talking about the TPT test there is a good article in the wiki called "Shave test explained" that gives a good idea of to look for in that. But as far as shaving I think the only way you will be able to get this info is to pick a honemiester send him a blade and request he hones it only on the same equipment you have. Of course you will want to check with your picked honemiester that he has those stones but I think just about all of them have a norton 4k/8k.

Welcome to the forum.
A skilled individual's 8k edge will always be smoother and sharper than an unskilled individual's 16k edge. IMO
With an proper 8k edge most can shave atg with zero pull.
When I started out honing I had nothing to reference to, so I compared my edge to that of my de. A de blade will most always be sharper, but its something to compare to if you dont have a shave ready blade.
There are no such thing at stupid questions, but most questions can be answered using the library and the search.
Hope that helps.

Might I suggest you do a search for janorton. This will bring up a thread we ran earlier this year that had everyone participating using only a Norton 4K/8K stone. I followed this thread and it is chock full of great information on how to get the most out of your 4/8k stone(s). You should really have a great edge using only this stone before moving up in grits.

Originally Posted by str8razr

I'm practicing honing on Norton 4/8 and I'm curious as to what the razor is supposed to feel like after properly honing it Norton 4/8. It is sharp enough to shave against the grain completely without pulling?

I ask because some people have 16k and higher grit stones. This leads me to believe that Norton 4/8 isn't the best you can get, so I'm wondering what kind of sharpness would a skilled individual get only with Norton 4/8?

Thanks and sorry if the question is stupid. I'm rather new.

First off, your question is NOT stupid. Your razor is not going to get any sharper after 4K, the rest is pre-polishing & polishing...so higher "grits" is not required.

What you need is to send a spare quality razor to a honer of your choice and ask them to quit at 8K. This way you can compare apples to apples. During my first year of honing I kept a freshly pro-honed razor available for reference.

Yes, you should be able to go atg without any pulling.

Originally Posted by JoeSomebody

Might I suggest you do a search for janorton. This will bring up a thread we ran earlier this year that had everyone participating using only a Norton 4K/8K stone. I followed this thread and it is chock full of great information on how to get the most out of your 4/8k stone(s). You should really have a great edge using only this stone before moving up in grits.

This is really the Goto thread now for the Noton stones it is a ton of reading and watching but if you take some time and follow it you will learn from Beginners and Experts alike in there

http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...on-2012-a.html

Originally Posted by shooter74743

First off, your question is NOT stupid. Your razor is not going to get any sharper after 4K, the rest is pre-polishing & polishing...so higher "grits" is not required.

What you need is to send a spare quality razor to a honer of your choice and ask them to quit at 8K. This way you can compare apples to apples. During my first year of honing I kept a freshly pro-honed razor available for reference.

This is also a great idea and basically the way many people start out +1

You should be able to get a perfectly good shave of the 8k, but it will take practice (lots of it). The suggestion of sending a razor to a pro to have as a comparison is a great idea. I'm nowhere near as good at honing as I would like to be, but I can shave atg off my 8k, not the smoothest but i'm still learning. Make sure you have a good bevel set first. Also if there is someone who hones in your area see if they can help you out, IMO nothing is better than hands on learning

Originally Posted by str8razr

I'm practicing honing on Norton 4/8 and I'm curious as to what the razor is supposed to feel like after properly honing it Norton 4/8. It is sharp enough to shave against the grain completely without pulling?

I ask because some people have 16k and higher grit stones. This leads me to believe that Norton 4/8 isn't the best you can get, so I'm wondering what kind of sharpness would a skilled individual get only with Norton 4/8?

Thanks and sorry if the question is stupid. I'm rather new.

A lot depends on your face and your shave prep.

I have found that after 8K how I strop is as much or
more important than my 10k, 12k, 13k, 16k hones.
My strop skills can undo anything that my finer hones
do or do not do.

I should note that a fresh Feather edge is to me harsh and terrible
for against the grain. After one or two shaves it seems much better
so out of the box sharp but harsh is not ideal for my face
especially against the grain. So you might ask why so many
fine grit hones in my collection... the answer is my quest
for smoothness. I am learning that smoothness can be had
at 8k or finer with the right touch and a nice visit to the strop.

A good old strop lightly dusted with submicron bits helps.
CrOx, CeOx, Diamond, CBN all work well for me. I am now
a fan of 0.25 micron bits on well worn canvas any day....

I should start a thread on how an edge hold days and weeks
after honing...

Originally Posted by str8razr

I'm curious as to what the razor is supposed to feel like after properly honing it

Umm, well, you know that feeling you get when SWMBO looks into your eyes in just a certain way and nature takes its course? Kinda like that. But without having to pay for dinner.